Sahitya Akademi New Delhi hosted the first “All India Differently Abled Writers’ Meet(AIDAWM),” which was represented by Gorkha-Nepali poet Arjun Sharma Niraula from Kalimpong District of West Bengal, India. At the first “All India Differently Abled Writers’ Meet” hosted by the Sahitya Akademi, Government of India, the poet, representing on behalf of all Indian Divyang Gorkha poets, read poems in Nepali, Hindi, and English.
For Divyang writers, this is the first time Sahitya Akademi has organised such a gathering. Niraula made history by being the first Gorkha-Nepali poet to attend an important event on July 18, 2023, at the Rabindra Bhavan on Ferozeshah Road in New Delhi’s Akademi Auditorium.
Niraula, the son of Chandrakala Sharma and Devkumar Sharma, was born on December 21, 1968, in the Kalimpong district’s Geetkhola . He worked for the Education Department after receiving his science degree from Government College in Darjeeling. He started engaging in literary pursuits after taking voluntary retirement.
Bhav Tarangaharoo, a collection of his poems in Nepali, was published by Sangri-La (India) in 2018 with the support of his childhood friend Puran Chhetri. His works have appeared in publications such as Bainshalu, Himalaya Darpan, Himalchuli, Sunchari, and Aaja Bholi. He is the chief editor at the monthly publication “Awaaz” .
He has continued to support Nepali literature despite being severely physically disabled following a serious car accident some twenty years ago. While travelling to Delhi, he was joined by his poet wife Saroja Bantwa Piyush and his friend Puran Chettri from the Rongo Cinchona Plantation.
